The growth had as main engine the consumption, considering that 40 pct of the request came from companies in retail and e-commerce. Bucharest contributed with 65 pct to the total.
Retailers rented last year logistics spaces of nearly 186,000 sqm, their logistics activity expansion having come in the context of their stores network.
Logistics and production companies transacted nearly 140,000 sqm, namely a third of the total request, while manufacturers in automotive signed leases for a total of nearly 72,000 sqm.
„Most probably direct foreign investments will exceed EUR 4 billion in 2016, considering that in the end of November EUR 3.9 billion was reported, a record level of the last eight years. Moreover, the consumption increased with nearly 10 pct. last year, fueled by the VAT drop and salary increase. All these are elements that favoured the request growth to a historical maximum on the industrial and logistics space market”, has declared Cristina Pop, Associate Director, Head of Industrial Agency JLL Romania.
Another positive aspect of the market is represented by the fact that more than 340,000 sqm, representing over 70 pct of the total rented area in 2016, represented new request – new leases, expansions and pre-leases, the rest being lease renewals and relocations.
The request structure on regions places Bucharest on the first position as favourite destination of the companies renting logistics and industrial spaces last year, with more than 300,000 sqm (65 pct of the total). The second place is occupied by Timişoara, with 74,200 sqm, followed by Cluj – nearly 30,000 sqm.
Romania will continue to attract companies due to its economic evolution and consumption growth, which will lead to a significant request from retailers, e-commerce and logistics companies in 2017 too.
„The drop of VAT this year, as well as the announced salary increases will favour the consumption so we’ll continue to see intense activity on the market from retailers, logistics and e-commerce companies. The state-aid schemes are essential for attracting investments in production. Therefore in 2017, apart the investments in the already known zones (Western and Centre of the country), it is possible to assist the development of Moldova from investment point of view, considering the availability and cost of labour”, says Cristina Pop. (source: mediafax.ro)
